Page 3 of Knot So Sweet

She hadn’t deserved that. No omega did.

It was why I wanted The Omega Den reopened, why I needed it as much for myself as for the others. But how could I protect anyone else if I couldn’t even keep myself safe?

It could’ve been me.

I tried to shake off the haunting thoughts. But my hands clenched into fists, as the memory of that night resurfaced, the night Kay had come to the Den seeking refuge.

The damage Adam had done to her… I could still see it in my mind, feel the weight of her pain. I took a sip of coffee, trying to wash away the bitter taste of those memories, and glanced at my brother’s closed door. Owen and his pack were still asleep, but for how long would we be safe here? How long could we protect Kay from Adam?

We needed a plan. But first, I had to find a way to stay safe during my heat. But how? Where? With who? A million questions swirled in my mind, each one heavier than the last.

I couldn’t trust an alpha—not after what Adam did. That option was out.

A beta, though? They were always a safer choice.

"Benson," I whispered, the name slipping from my lips in the empty kitchen. I bit my lip at the thought of him—the sexy-as-fuck tattoo artist who’d scratched the itch a few times. He was good, attentive even. But deep down, I knew he probably couldn’t handle me when my heat hit full force. No beta could, not really.

Still, the idea of him was a nice distraction, a fleeting escape. But that comfort quickly faded as the television flickered in the corner, yanking me back to the harsh reality that awaited me.

Sterling City’s morning news, with its relentless stream of updates. Each headline was designed to suffocate omegas like me, to remind us of our place beneath the boot of the Sterling family—ruled by Michelle and her perfect son.

Michelle Sterling. The queen of this city. Her influence seeped into every corner of our world like a creeping vine. She saw omegas like me as property, as tools for her son’s twisted ambition.

My stomach twisted at the thought. I snapped the rubber band on my wrist harder, the sting bringing a moment of clarity. I wished I were a beta, betas had it easy. No one expected them to bond. No one hunted them like prey. But I wasn’t a beta. I was an omega. And that meant I was a prize—a prize to be claimed, or stolen.

The Den was my only hope, the only place I’d ever felt safe. But with Adam still out there, with his mother pulling the strings, it felt like an impossible dream.

My gaze shifted back to the screen as the news segment moved on to the latest catastrophe. The fire at the docks that had claimed countless lives.

The footage was haunting—blackened ruins and smoldering debris, the remains of what had once been a bustling part of Sterling City. Omegas had been held captive by the Hounds, a ruthless gang notorious for trafficking, and the explosion that destroyed the area was attributed to the Steel Serpent MC.

The Hounds would retaliate.

It wasn’t a question. It was a certainty. They were vicious, unrelenting. If they were willing to deal in flesh, what couldn’t they be capable of?

As the camera cut to a perfectly polished woman, her expression serene, despite the horror playing out behind her, my stomach twisted with fury. A low growl rumbled in my chest before I could stop it.

Michelle Sterling.

She was the embodiment of every bit of corruption and injustice that had tormented my family for years. My brother had been locked up at her estate for months for a crime he didn’t commit, and she knew it.

She’d always known. But it didn’t matter to her. Owen had come home a shadow of the man he used to be, his spirit crushed by whatever hell she’d subjected him to behind those pristine walls.

I hated her with a fiery passion that burned in my chest, a slow, smoldering rage that I couldn’t quite extinguish. But I watched her give her speech nonetheless. If only to know what my enemy was planning.

"The Bramwell Sanctuary is for the safety of all unmated residents. A place for omegas to thrive, to find their pack in a safe and controlled environment. It's time for a change. A new and improved Sterling City,"Michelle’s voice droned on from the broadcast.

I grit my teeth, my jaw clenched tight as I glared at the screen. She was playing on our fears, manipulating our biology with cold, calculated precision. It was infuriating to watch her twist the natural instincts of omegas into a weapon for her own gain. Why admit the truth when lies were so much more convenient for her agenda?

"Change? Bullshit," I muttered, my frustration spilling over as I tapped my fingers against the counter. The scent of rich, dark roast coffee did nothing to calm the irritation simmering beneath my skin.

I was so sick of everyone pretending the world wasn’t crumbling around us, while they sipped their lattes and talked about‘safety measures’and‘sanctuaries’for omegas. It was all a farce, a carefully crafted illusion designed to keep us in check, to keep us compliant.

The Bramwell Sanctuary was nothing more than a glorified prison.

My omega instincts were screaming at me to run, to find somewhere—anywhere—safe to hide until this storm passed. But there was nowhere to go. Nowhere that wasn’t tainted by people like Michelle Sterling.

The sanctuary was supposed to be that safe haven, but I knew better. It was a gilded cage, designed to force omegas into submission, to funnel us into packs deemed ‘appropriate’ by the Sterling regime.